Fallen Fairy Tales: Dead Riding Hood
by HumanAtHeart
Summary: All because of one little mistake, Kagamine Rin's life has warped from crap to absolute hell. But in wandering this underworldly territory, will she meet someone who has been ripped apart possibly even more than she? (I'm hoping to start a series of modernized fairy tales turned tragedy/depressing. I have others planned, but let's see how this one plays out first!)
1. Chapter 1

By: HumanAtHeart

Chapter 1

_ That screaming._

_ That damn chorus of wailing and shrieking._

_ It wouldn't stop._

_**Make it stop.**_

_ And there was blood._

_ A lot of blood, everywhere._

_ Too much blood, too much screaming._

_**Make it stop.**_

_ Bright, neon lights flared up in a strange pattern before dying down again, distorting vision in the dark. It took a minute to distinguish the outline of an ambulance, lights on top flaring in even bursts as it spun around and around. The light hurt, making eyelids want to close themselves._

_ Lights, blood, screaming like someone's in a bloody horror movie._

_**Please, someone make it all stop.**_

_ But none of that was the worst._

_ Then the pain is realized._

_ The flames of pain licked arms and legs, turning them into rolling seas of torture. One arm suffered only lightly from the pain, but the other three limbs felt as if they were slowly being ripped to pieces, only to be reconstructed again to start the cycle over._

_ That was definitely the worst._

_**Make it stop.**_

_** Make it stop.**_

_** Make it stop.**_

"MAKE IT STOP!"

The pain evaporated, leaving only cold sweat and a face red from screaming. The terror slowly began to fade as the others awoke, running in the dark to the bedside. A new pair of arms closed around the one drenched in her own sweat, providing a shoulder to rest on and a chest to cry into, which were quickly taken advantage of.

"It's alright sweetie. You're alright. It's all over." A soothing voice crooned, coming from just above the chest that was slowly being dampened with tears.

"It….it was all happening again…" the sobbing girl stumbles over her words like she used to on rocky trails, when hiking was still an option. "The screaming…..the screaming and the blood and the pain and…."

"Shh! Shh!" a second voice whispered, stroking the sweaty hair. "You're alright, Rin. You're alright now. Everything's alright."

The sobbing continues until others are summoned by it, following their human instincts to protect family. The light comes on, almost blinding after hours of darkness, yet comforting. They were as much of a contrast from the dream as possible.

"How is she doing?" a quiet child's voice asks, the first male sound to be heard.

"It's getting worse." The voice from the one stroking her hair responds. "What are we going to do? It's becoming a nightly thing, and it's supposedly been long enough for her to recover from the trauma."

"Should I take her back to the psychologist?" an older woman's voice asks from the other side of the room, no longer near the sobbing, sweating girl.

"No, she hates it there." The voice that responds is low and gruff, belonging to a man. "She cried every time she had to go, and was even worse once she came out."

"We can't just let her suffer like this!" the woman argues.

"Neru, can you please get Rin some water?"

"Sure." A new voice, this one female, replies. Sweaty, sobbing girl doesn't even look away from the girl she cries into to see her older sister go to retrieve something for her she doesn't even want. She knows any water will just come right back up, getting all over the bed and possibly the girls comforting her.

Looking up at the girl holding her, she finally sees the face that matches the voice, and with that pair comes a name.

"Lily," she whispered to her eldest sister, who smiles and squeezes her upper arm.

"You alright, sweetie?" it disgusted the girl how motherly her older sister was, when she should have been bickering and messing around with her. That was how things had been before everything had gone to hell, making shaky, crying, sweaty girl the center of the family.

"You don't need to call me that." She whispered, pulling away from Lily. This apparently was seen as a signal by her sister behind her to cease her stroking and cooing, saving the girl the trouble of telling her to stop. That sister, Ia, gave the girl a small smile before climbing off of the side of the bed and walking back over to her own.

Neru returned with a glass of water, which she presented to the girl. She gave a whispered thanks and took the glass, pretending to be grateful for it. She turned and set it on the small nightstand to her left, not even bothering to take a sip.

The girl looked around, watching everyone as their eyes bored into her. She didn't like it, and she felt as if they were waiting for something she was supposed to deliver, but she had no idea what.

"Stop worrying about me."

They were the first clear words she had spoken, and they had required more effort than she had made them seem. But that effort paid off, seeing how her entire family turned to look at her, waiting for her to continue her speech.

She sighed, knowing that there was no going back now.

"You all need to stop, okay? It's going to be like this for a long time, maybe even forever, and you need to all get used to it. You need to stop running in here like it's an emergency every time I have an episode. I don't need all of you crowding me, and I'm sure Ia and Lily don't appreciate it either. It's their room as much as it is mine, and I need to learn to live with the trauma without waking them up. And even if I do scream, it won't take long to control. If I want help, I'll come ask for it."

"Rin…." Rin's older brother came to her side, reaching down to touch her shoulder. "You shouldn't feel like that. We aren't upset by this, we're just worried about you and how healthy and happy you're feeling."

"Thanks Leon, but I really need to deal with all of this on my own," nevertheless, she let him lift her up. He carried her like a baby needing to be burped to the other side of the room, where he set her in her wheelchair. After thanking him, crying, sweaty, nightmare girl turned to the rest of her family.

"I'm going to go take a bath, I'm all gross and sweaty."

All she got in response was a few nods and small smiles, which only made her feel even worse. With a deep sigh, she used the one arm she had to get her wheelchair going out of her room and down the hallway.

…

Using the handles her parents had installed on the side of the tub to help her get in and out on her own, Rin pulled herself out of the hot water and onto the toilet, where she grabbed a towel and dried herself off. It was only her third or fourth baths without help since the day, but she was starting to get the hang of doing things without constant handicap.

It was complete bullshit. The entire situation was complete bullshit. It had been her own sheer bad luck that had led to everything, and now her life was ruined. Her dreams had been crushed six months ago along with three of her limbs. There was no hope left for her, and all that she had been left behind as was an empty husk of a girl and a new burden for her already struggling family. If supporting eight kids wasn't bad enough, one of them being a useless handicap definitely sank that ship to rock bottom.

Once she dried herself off, she hauled herself from the toilet to her wheelchair. It wasn't the first time she'd done it, and hours of practice had gone into not falling on her ass. Once settled, she wheeled herself back to the bedroom to discover that her family had dispersed and Lily was brushing her hair while Ia tried to get a few more minutes of sleep in. Rolling over to the small vanity table we shared in the corner, Rin grabbed her older sister's arm, along with her attention.

"What's up, Rin?" she smiled in that way that was so kind, it made Rin want to vomit.

"What time is it?" she asked quietly, trying not to bother Ia.

"About six thirty. Do you want to get a little more sleep, or can I help you get dressed now?"

Rin looked down at herself. Having slept in nothing but a big t-shirt and her underwear, it hadn't been hard to get out of that and into the bathtub, but getting _into _her clothes was a different story.

"Can you help me now? I don't think I can go back to sleep at this point."

Lily gave her a friendly smile and nodded, moving out of her chair and handing Rin the hairbrush. The third mumbled thanks of the night fluttered from Rin's lips like a limp butterfly, possibly not even reaching Lily's ear. She sighed and started running the brush through her short blond locks, easily getting rid of any knots or tangles. Short hair was so practical, though sometimes Rin wished she still had long hair like she had before it had been burned off in the accident. It hadn't burned all the way to her scalp, but it had left her hair short and unappealing. All of her sisters' hair was long and flowing, her hers was short and pathetic.

Lily returned to her side just as the nightmare girl clipped her bangs back and tied and ribbon over her head. The older sister smiled, pulling the towel away from the younger before helping her into her starched white button-up and red plaid skirt. Once both were dressed and brushed, Lily grabbed the back of her sister's wheelchair and took her out of the room, leaving Ia to sleep in peace.

"You don't need to push me." Rin said, guilt ravaging her gut like an untamable storm. "I can move myself."

"No, I want to help." Lily said cheerily, not noticing her sister's discomfort.

"No really, it's fine. You don't need to fall all over me, you know? I've been home long enough to manage myself." Couldn't Lily take a hint?

"Too late, we're already in the kitchen."

Rin made a small growling sound, caught up in her frustration. The elder laughed and released the younger's chair, allowing her to wheel herself over to the cupboard and grab a box of cereal. They were alone in the kitchen, it being that everyone else was either still sleeping or getting ready for the day. Rin didn't care, she liked the quiet. Lily never made too much noise out of courtesy of the people still sleeping, but Rin knew that the second Seeu came downstairs, the dead would be risen.

But for the moment, it was nice to just have some peace. With seven brothers and sisters, life was often rowdy and out of control, but mornings were never like that.

If only school could be just as nice.

…

"Hey! Rin!" a shallow female voice chirped.

Rin turned and groaned inwardly once the source of the voice came into her line of sight. _Here she comes again, and with her pity party too. Why is everyone making this such a big deal?_

Nonetheless, Rin painfully twisted her face into an awkward smile as the tall girl with piercingly bright green hair ran over to block the door nightmare girl had been about to enter. The girl grinned at her, obviously trying to ignite some sort of friendship. Or maybe she supposed that they were already friends, Rin wasn't sure. She definitely didn't think of the girl as a friend. Her hair was a ridiculous color, obviously dyed to fit a style.

It was girls like this who hoped to achieve some sort of image from befriending Rin. It was almost as if they were hoping to look good by showing a triple amputee some sympathy and acting as her friend. Rin didn't get it; it wasn't like amputation had deprived her of friends. She hadn't had friends before, but no one had cared. She'd been a lonely nobody, but who cared about that? But now that she'd had three limbs cut off, suddenly everybody wanted to be her friend.

Damn all those simple minded bitches.

"Do you need someone to take you to your next class?" the green haired girl asked, filling the doorway with her flexible, lean, lanky form, obviously to prevent Rin from passing through.

"No thanks," nightmare girl said tensely, still forcing the muscles on her face to twist into that smile of pain. "I was just going in here…"

"What are you doing in the library? Maybe I can help you find a book or something…"

"No, I'm fine, thank you." Rin forced herself not to clench her teeth or bite her tongue. She had to remain normal, or else her hatred for the way she was being used would glow brighter than a florescent neon sign, hanging over the highway.

"You sure? Maybe I can just…."

"I'm fine, really." Rin started wheeling forward in a manor that suggested the girl in front of her would be flattened, did she not move.

And move she did, right out of the way. Unfortunately, she followed right behind the triple amputee's wheelchair into the library. Trying to shake her off, wheelchair nightmare girl turned around and showed the girl with the hair so bright it was blinding her twisted face, still painfully forced into a smile.

"You can go to your class now, Gumi. I just want to talk to my sister. She said she'd meet me here." _And we want to talk alone. _The last bit was a messaged forced into her tone. She hoped the airheaded, shallow manipulator would drop the act at least long enough to focus on her words enough to realize what was implied. When there was no change in her behavior, Rin found herself audibly sighing. "And I kinda wanted to talk to her alone."

"Oh, okay." Gumi sounded slightly disappointed, though she evidently tried to hide it. Rin gave a small wave before turning back to face forward, using her one arm to wheel herself farther into the depths of the library. She didn't even listen for a farewell from the painfully bright haired person, hoping to make her way into the books and find Mayu before another crazy girl showed up.

"Rin!"

She almost choked on her relief when she heard her long haired older sister calling her name. Turning to face her, she watched as the rainbow tipped stream of white blond hair fluttered around the child (as someone so cute could hardly be called a teenager, despite her superior age) as she flew across the library to her handicapped sister with grace that would make any gymnast implode with jealousy. Rin smiled a real smile for once and allowed her sister to take the back of chair so they could talk easily as they moved.

"So, what did you want to ask me about?" Rin asked as they left the library, still grateful for her sister's rescue of her from the girl Gumi.

"Rin, do you have any friends?"

Rin twisted her neck around to peer suspiciously up at Mayu, scrutinizing her face to find some sort of secret hidden in the pleasant, smiling face. But there was neither smile nor secret to been seen in that instant. All that was there was an inexplicable mixture of worry and what might have even been regret.

"Well, I have you and Lily and Ia and Leon and…."

"No, that's not what I meant." Mayu's expression turned stone cold. "I mean outside of the family. Do you have any _real _friends, Rin?"

Rin stared strangely up at her usually cheerful sister, wondering what was wrong with her. Mayu was never so solemn and serious, sure she had her violent streaks, but even then there was real emotion and passion. Now there was almost nothing there but her concern for nightmare girl, and it was like someone had grabbed her stomach and was wrenching apart her guts.

_Oh Crist, am I doing it to her too? Mayu of all people…._

"Aren't you guys enough? What do I need other friends for?"

Mayu looked pained, as if Rin were hurting her somehow.

"Rin, even _you_ have to know that it isn't normal for someone to only be friends with her siblings. Hell, it's not even normal for someone to be friends with her siblings at all."

"Do I look normal to you?" Rin wiggled the stump that was left of her left arm, trying to make a point.

"It's not about your arm, or your legs for that matter. It has nothing to do with the accident. I'm worried about your life and your happiness, not your missing limbs. You didn't even have friends before the accident, and the trauma you're facing now isn't making it…."

"Alright, did mom and dad send you to do this?"

Mayu seemed taken aback by her sister's interruption. She stopped walking in the middle of the school hallway, stopping and irritating traffic around her.

"Well?" Rin pressed her sister for an answer, but the child's silence and hanging of her head was all the answer she needed. "They did, didn't they?" There was no shock or anger in her tone, only disappointment. "I thought that if I could trust anyone, it was you Mayu. But apparently your loyalty is stronger with them."

"That's not true, Rin!" Mayu argued. She sounded like she was forcing back emotions, trying to contain her urge to break down and smash something. Wheelchair girl knew her sister hated it when she spoke in a proper and adult sounding way, making her sound more like a storyteller than a fourteen year old.

"It isn't? Then tell me why you're talking to me like this? Since when are you my therapist?"

"I just want to help!"

"Mom and dad," Rin added, giving Mayu's sentence alternate meaning. Mayu's face whitened, her eyebrows twitching like mad as she resisted the urge to smack her sister.

"No! I want to help you, and so do mom and dad! We all just want to help you, Rin. Why do you have to shut everyone out like that?"

"Because I don't want everyone falling all over themselves for me," Rin stated blatantly, wanted to get worked up, but feeling as if there wasn't anything to work. "We're already in a tight fix, and I had to go and screw up, tightening that fix until we were squeezed into oblivion, making a black hole that just sucks in more and more trouble while everyone tries to fix it. Do you know who that black hole is?"

"Stop talking like that!" Mayu cried, confused by nightmare girl's figurative language. "You know I hate it when you use similes to confuse me!"

"It was more of a metaphor, or maybe even symbolism." Rin mused, thinking over her own previous statement. Mayu groaned, trying to soothe her urges by imagining herself wrapping her gloved fingers around the little girl's neck and wringing it like a waterlogged washcloth. "Nope, definitely a metaphor," Rin decided, knowing she was still annoying Mayu. Revenge was key against someone using her trust to try and find a reason to take her back to that torturous psychologist, always trying to get into her head. Rin liked her thoughts private, and that was the way they were going to stay no matter what anyone else tried on her.

"I'm so done with you." Mayu sighed, resuming her pushing of the younger sister's wheelchair. Rin closed her eyes, leaning back in the chair as she listened to the child grumbling over her behavior. "Rin, you need to listen to me. I know you don't like it when people try to help you, but sometimes we need to stop being the tough guy and let yourself accept some help." It wasn't a match to any of Rin's careful, thought warping statements, but it was the best the rainbow tipped child could come up with.

"If you want to persuade me toward your point, may I suggest less use of repetition? In debates, you want to cover a variety of information as opposed to constantly repeating yourself." Rin thought over the topic a moment before adding. "But you don't want too much information to the point where you're going off topic. By then you will have confused your listener and they won't even be interested in the first topic anymore."

"If that's so important, then stop changing the subject!" Mayu said angrily, the dangerous edge she often hid away creeping out of its hidey hole and into Mayu's voice, itching for a neck to snap.

"But I'm not trying to prove a point." Rin pointed out, exciting the danger further. "My goal is to confuse and agitate your lack of understanding and reasoning as revenge for asking me questions I feel uncomfortable answering. It's sort of a mixture of dabbing more and more lemon juice onto a cut until you scream and probing your head for weaknesses before proceeding to exploit them for my own benefits."

"Will you shut up already?" Mayu sounded at her limits. Rin wasn't prepared to go so far that Mayu would lose it, but there was a little bit of string left to tempt this little kitty amputee into letting her sister snap her own twig.

But before any more could be said, Rin found herself being pushed into a nearly empty classroom. Looking around, she realized that they had reached her next class, yet the sensei was the only one in the room so far. This wasn't a surprise; Rin always came to classes early to avoid causing traffic jams when entering a class, but she felt her balloon of pride deflate as she was rolled over to her desk, the sensei hardly even looking up from his thin paperback to watch his injured student enter the room. He knew she could handle herself, and there was also no point in offering help to one who already had it.

"See you later, Rin." There was a bit of self-pride in Mayu's voice. She was obviously happy for herself for not losing her temper with her sister while she had irritated her almost beyond her point of control.

"Yeah, and Mayu?" The child, who had been about to leave the classroom, turned back to her sister. "Sorry about what happened back there. I just had to get back at you for helping mom and dad get to me like that."

"It's alright. I might not know how you feel, but I do enough about you to understand that you prefer your head free of prying eyes. I can respect that."

Rin gave her sister a grateful smile before watching her depart. The second Mayu walked out, however, it was similar to the effect of putting a coin into a candy machine at a bowling alley. A flood of kids came streaming into the classroom, all chatting and smiling with their friends, leaving Rin sitting alone in the corner. It wasn't that Rin wanted to be bothered from her own things, but it would have been nice to still have someone like Mayu there to talk to. Looking around, she noticed Gumi approaching her desk for the millionth time that week. Rin groaned quietly and inconspicuously.

_That wasn't what I meant._

* * *

**I GOT BORED AND DID A THING! WHY AM I OVERLOADING MYSELF WITH ALL THIS WORK? I NEED TO FOCUS ON "For Love or For Wealth?" AND "Neon Demons in Our Monochrome World"! WHAT IS MY LIFE?**

**QUESTION TIME!**

**Are you new to my stories?**

**Was this a good first chapter?**

**How did you come across my story?**

**What attracted you to my story?**

**Are you prepared to either be really bored or want to bitch slap me to the moon?**

**Who the hell would have eight kids? (I have a feeling that there's someone out there from a family of eight who wants to bitch slap me already. Because that's just my fucking luck! I offend everyone, on accident or not.)**

**I'M SORRY FOR MAKING GUMI A BITCH! SHE ISN'T A BITCH IN ALL OF MY STORIES I PROMISE!**

**Okay that last one wasn't a question. SO WHO LIKES BEING SICK? 'CAUSE I SURE AS HELL DON'T! BUT I THINK I MIGHT HAVE CAUGHT SOMETHING! (Or maybe I ate some bad tofu, idk)  
**

**Am I swearing too much? I'm not used to writing anything T rated.**

**Will I be able to keep up my weekly updates with three fics going on?**

**Am I confusing the hell out of you with this? Rin's tendency to use weird language to confuse people is partially based off of something I used to do kinda like that just to piss everyone off. I'm such an ass.**

**Is the way I'm writing in the questions a lot different from how I write in the story? Do I seem like multiple people?**

**I HOPE YOU READ THIS THROUGH TO THE END PEEPS! SEE YOU LATER!**

**-H.A.H.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Well then sue me! I'm not waiting around here all day for that boy! He's gotten himself into too much trouble trying to help this family, and I'm putting a stop to that right now."

"Stop! This is a terrible idea! You're going to get him arrested!"

"He's our son, Ann. We're doing whatever we can to keep him in line. If you keep throwing yourself in front of the bullet to protect him, he'll never learn."

"He's just trying to help! Stop acting like his counselor!"

"I'm not his counselor. I'm his father." He kept his voice level as he peeled his hysteric wife from his shirt. "I'm going to find that boy."

"If you're going, I'm coming with you!"

"And leave Rin alone here with Neru and Oliver? Are you insane? If something happens to her, a little boy and a social media addict aren't going to be much help. Rin may say she can take care of herself, but we both know she's just trying to make our lives easier without the extra weight of taking care of her."

She sighed, finally giving in to him. He stormed out of the house, looking angrier than ever. Once his car has pulled away, Ann smiles and turns toward the counted behind her.

"Rin, Ollie, I know you're back there." She said, sighing once again as she went to sit by the table in the kitchen. The two youngest siblings groaned and came out of hiding, Oliver pushing his sister over to their mother. She smiles at her children, lines of exhaustion clearly visible in her face. Oliver looked curiously at his mother, but Rin forced herself to look away. She couldn't stand seeing her once beautiful mother looking so miserable, and all because of her. She couldn't stand what she was doing to her family, but what could she do about it?  
"What's going on with dad and Leon?" Oliver asked, looking intently at his weary mother.

"It's nothing to be concerned about, okay Ollie?" she rumpled his messy blond tangles. "Leon's just in some trouble."

"He's doing it again?" Rin asked, raising an eyebrow at her mother, who shot her a warning look. She sighed and gestured widely with her one arm. "Oh, you can tell him. He's a brave kid. He saved my life, which is definitely something he shouldn't have done." Almost without though, Rin reached out and touched the bandage that covered the deformed half of her brother's face, the remains of the fire that had kissed it when he had run through the flames to save his sister, something that none of their older siblings had been brave enough to do. When Rin saw that her mother was still hesitant to tell the boy, she sighed and turned back to him. "Oliver, do you know what heroin is?"

"Like….the drug?"

"Yeah," Rin nodded. "Leon got his hands on some of that, and he's been selling it to make money for us. I have no idea how he got it, and I'm not really sure I want to know. It's an illegal drug, so he has to make sure he doesn't get caught. Dad's not very happy about that, if you hadn't noticed."

"Yeah, I noticed." Oliver replied, looking down at the table. "Damn it Leon…..you're so stupid sometimes!"

"Watch your mouth, Oliver." Ann snapped, a disapproving scowl momentarily flashing across her face before it reverted back to its retired exhaustion. She dropped her head into her hands, laying the back of her fingers across her forehead. Rin laid her hand on the woman's shoulder, hoping to be of some comfort. Her mother smiled at her and slipped Rin's hand into hers, clasping it comfortingly. Her stomach imploding with guilt once again, she jerked her hand away, turning her head to look to the ground. Not even bothering to look to her mother, she wheeled away from the table and out of the kitchen, heading for her room. Thankfully, their house had no stairs, so she didn't need anyone's assistance to make it to the bedroom she, Ia, and Lily all shared.

Once in the room, she closed the door behind her and made her way to her bed, where she lifted herself out of the chair and fell into the bed, knowing she wouldn't be able to get herself out. She hoped Leon wasn't in too much trouble; she liked him a lot more than her other siblings. He was kind to her and paid attention to her, but he never acted any differently from how he had behaved before her accident, the only addition to his behavior being that he often carried her places. But she liked it when he carried her. He seemed to enjoy it, and there was nothing to his demeanor that even suggested that she was a burden to him. He often laughed as he held her, occasionally running and giving her the feeling that she was running herself, something she knew she could never truly do again.

Leon was kind, and he loved her. She loved her brother, but she knew that he could be stupid. Drug dealing was probably the worst possible thing he could have chosen to do to get money, but he had only been trying to help. He seemed to think that, as the oldest sibling, it was his unspoken duty to help and support the family during times like these. It was ridiculous, but he apparently cared about his family more than he cared about the law. He hadn't said anything of it, but her intuition told her he was doing it for her. After all, he had promised to get her new limbs so she could walk again, or maybe even run like she had always loved to do.

But even for that, this was going too far.

She inhaled the sweat and tears from that morning's episode, recalling with a lurch of her intestines the pounding footsteps of the entire family; the slamming of her bedroom door, opening to make way for everyone besides Ia, Lily, and herself; the whispered assurances that it was only a dream, and that she was perfectly fine. All of it was only worsening her pain, and the fact that they were only trying to help lessen it made her want to vomit.

The scent of depression filling her nostrils, Rin closed her eyes and pressed her face into the sheets, ignoring the draft that bit at her exposed skin. After a moment of lying motionless, the high pitched singing of a teen idol snapped her out of the trance and informed her that someone was trying to contact her. Sighing deeply, bringing a swell of dust and sadness into her lungs, she rolled to the other end of her bed and reached off the edge into her book bag. After a moment of rummaging around, her fingers closed around an old, battered flip cell phone. Pulling it out with a flourish –though no one was there to observe- Rin checked the caller ID.

_Private Caller_

"Hello?" she asked, whisking the ancient phone to her ear.

"Rin!" a plastic voice answered, tugging on a groan in Rin's throat. She snatched it, hanging on it to keep it from escaping her voice box.

"Hi Gumi," Rin emptied the few drops of emotion she carried from her voice, remembering her technique for dealing with girls like the neon headed one. No one could hear her frustration if her voice was devoid of all emotion. "Not that I'm not _thrilled_ to hear from you, but how did you get my number?"

"Oh, you're sister Neru gave it to me!" Gumi didn't sound festered in the slightest by nightmare girl's question, her syllables seeming to bounce around in the air like rubber, though the effect was less annoying over the phone. Rin silently reminded herself to strangle Neru at some point, if the latter ever left her room, that is.

"Oh, well did you want something?" Rin didn't see much point in calling someone just to speak with them. If you were going to waste electricity, there had better be a pretty damn good reason.

"Oh yeah! Miki, Luka, and us girls were planning to go to see a movie Friday night." Gumi said, her voice radiant with false kindness. "It's that new one with the Shion brothers in it! You know, Kaito and Akaito and Taito and those guys! I love how they each….."

Rin let Gumi ramble on, her voice rolling over topics the amputee cared nothing for. She obviously wouldn't go with the girl, the knowledge that she was most likely only going to be there so Gumi could impress some boy or other vibrantly present in her mind. But, if given a minute's contemplation, could there be benefit to this? Everyone was stressing themselves out worrying about her, and they already had enough to worry about with Leon's screw up and the debt that needed to be paid. Would they be relieved if Rin began to ease out of her depression and start going out with 'friends'? Even if she had to deal with being used by the most vibrant source of irritation the world had to offer, at least her family would believe she was improving without their assistance. They would be able to focus on other things instead of doting on her all the time.

"What time is the movie?" she asked suddenly. The plastic voice was snipped short by Rin's scissor voice, not returning for several seconds. She sighed inwardly, knowing that the girl with the ridiculous hair was taking her lack of intrest in sibling actors with rhyming names and bodies as fake as Gumi's voice too seriously. Not ready for any complaints, wheelchair girl continued speaking. "I can probably go, but it depends on what my parents say about it."

"Can't you go ask them now?" Gumi's nerves had apparently also been clipped short by the scissors, along with her patience. She was growing testy, and no one wanted a testy Gumi.

"My mom's really stressed right now," the one armed girl explained, adjusting herself so she could comfortably talk to Gumi while still in bed. Hopefully the conversation would get its own trimming, but that couldn't happen if Rin didn't wield her weapon, the scissor voice.

"Why?"

"My brother did something. He's in a lot of trouble."

"What did he do that's such a big deal? Steal a car?"

The blond freakshow clamped her teeth down on her tongue hard enough to draw blood, filing her mouth with the one taste she despised more than anything. She couldn't let the information on what Leon was doing slip through her loose lips, or the amount of trouble he was in would only swell.

"It's a long story." Rin said, her voice easy and smooth as she prayed the plastic voice wouldn't respond to the slight hesitation in her voice.

Thankfully, the owner of the voice was far too shallow for that.

"Oh, alright." It echoed through the phone, resonating in nightmare girl's ears with a buzzing that wasn't about to leave anytime soon. "So, Friday night at seven? The theatre a few blocks north of the gas station?"

"I'll have to ask, but it sounds like a plan." Rin rolled onto her back, letting her pale eyelids droop shut. "So, call you later?" The very thought of Rin speaking so casually to someone as self-absorbed and shallow as Gumi was so odd it was hardly laughable. It almost made her feel normal, human even.

"Yeah!" the facade of perkiness had grown back from where Rin had snipped it short, as if it were a weed on steroids. "Later Rin!"

With a click and a beep, Rin took the scissors and made on final snip, cutting their conversation off. With a deep, guttural groan Rin flung her phone off the edge of the bed, where it landed on the soft carpet with a dull thud, as one might here when meeting bone after slicing through flesh. That was what Gumi had done to her, hadn't she? Or had it just been the cruel whips of fate that had put her in this situation, stripping her down like a slut until she had no choice but to consent for the sake of her family's sanity?

Whatever the cause, she was going to the movies. She would sit in a cramped space surrounded by children she hated, with a movie she didn't want to see play in front of her, all while voices she didn't want to hear babbled about idols she didn't care about.

It wasn't something she was particularly looking forward to, but what was one annoying night if the reward was a relaxed, focused family?

She released her thoughts, letting them flow away on the river of air she exhaled in her deep breathing. They would always turn around and come back, wouldn't they? But they were issues for another time; now was a time to rest.

She focused on her breathing, which she made deep and even, her mind muddling as exhaustion overtook her, invading her mind and body as a result of too many weeks of sleep deprivation. There were no colors to fade to black, only a thin sheen of light that shone through the window and penetrated her thin sheath of skin that was her eyelid, revealing the flesh shield's pasty color. Rin didn't see the sun very often, and when she did she tried to walk among the shadows and shade. But that bit of light didn't exactly fade, as the surrender to sleep often described it as doing, but instead it seemed to waltz away. It began coating her lid, but moved all over it in different shadow patterns, all based on the movement of the branches outside her window. The light danced and stepped it's way slowly across the thin layer of fair skin, continuing its motions until it had danced out of sight, leaving Rin in the darkness that had suddenly caught up with her.

It seemed the dancing light had betrayed her, leading her only to darkness.

_Well played, shadows. Well played._

Life had become a game, and sleep was her biggest rival, the opponent who challenged her so often just for the sake of defeating her again. It was all she was living, but there could be worse.

At least her family was alive.

…

Jerking her into reality was the slam of a door and a voice barking like an old rottweiler.

"Leon Kagamine, what the hell were you thinking?"

_Sounds like Papa's home. _The bitter thoughts had a stronger taste than sleep, driving her to push herself into a sitting position to clear the sleep fog muddling her thoughts.

"I was only trying to help!" a younger voice, this one still with some hope in it. It hadn't been pushed to the ends of hell to get here, unlike the senior voice. "We needed this!"

"We did not need anything from you! _Drug dealing…_ have you lost your mind, Leon?"

"Dad I…"

"You stupid boy, I don't want to hear anything out of you! Do you have any idea how much you disappointed me? Disappointed your mother? You're disgraceful!"

"Stop talking to me like I'm a child! I'm eighteen, and I'm not going to be here for you to scream at forever!"

"You're old enough to be making smart decisions, but instead you decide to start selling heroin! Where did you even get that?"

"I…."

Rin rolled to the side of the bed, reaching out to grab her chair and pull it closer. With a quick jerk of her arm, she yanked herself from the edge of the bed into the wheelchair, sending it flying across the room until it hit the wall, Rin still lying sideways inside it, her shoulders and thighs pressing into either arm rest.

Once she had comfortably situated herself in the chair, she wheeled herself through the door and into the hallway, her ears still focused on the conflict between her father and older brother. There was an irritating yet fascinating medley of shouting, pounding, and even some glass shattering.

"What the hell was that?" her father shouted as Rin wheeled toward the kitchen. Once the scene was in focus, however, she froze, lingering in the shadows, just short of the bright light that flowed into and out of the aforementioned room.

"A glass, what did it look like?" even in a rage Leon's dry sarcasm was as present as his tousled blond locks, a matching color to Rin's.

_"How could you throw a fucking glass at me?" _the senior voice exploded, roaring like a provoked lion, loud enough that Rin attempted to cover her ears.

"How could you treat me like this when I was only helping you?"

"Helping? Everything you've done has only hurt this family! You hurt your mother, you hurt me, you even hurt your youngest sister and brother! How do you think Rin and Oliver felt about it?"

"They don't have to live with all the guilt I do. And I promise you, I will never live that incident down."

"For God's sake, they're living much worse off than you, you selfish bastard!" They had stepped out of Rin's sight, but she watched the shadow of her father grab the collar of a smaller shadow's shirt, shaking him like a baby's rattle. "Oliver lost his eye! Hell, he lost half of his face! And what about Rin? Just take a look at her for a second, she's on the verge of _suicide _she hates her body so much! No legs, one arm, and permanently condemned to a wheelchair because we can't afford new limbs! You aren't suffering at all compared to her!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Leon was screaming, his shadow shoving the taller one away, stomping his foot the way a child might. "It was all my fault! Why do you think I've been trying to make her feel like nothing happened? Why do you think the only difference in how I'm treating her is that I lift her up and run with her? I want her to feel the wind again! I want her to run and run until she can get what she wanted from life! I never had anything going for me, not like I deserved it. But she could have made it so far with her talent, but now it's all gone!"

"Because of you!"

"Exactly! That's why I want to get the money to get her those limbs, because I owe them to her!"

"You don't want to get her them because you love her? There isn't anything feeling there at all?" She saw the swishing of hair as the head on Leon's shadow shook back on forth. "You really do only care about yourself! You never cared about Rin or Oliver or anyone, you only wanted to rid yourself of the guilt that kept following you around all the time! You want to feel free of the knowledge that you're responsible for the handicap in front of you!"

"So what if I am? She gets what she wants, and I get what I want. Everyone's happy!"

"She won't be if she finds out that you never cared about her at all!"

"She doesn't have to."

"You're a selfish bastard. I raised a selfish bastard."

"I learned from the best."

"Are you calling me selfish?" they had moved back into sight, and flicks of spit leaped off the end of the older man's lip and into the pale face opposite him. "I've done everything for this family, but you've been too busy trying to make Rin feel good because of your guilt that you don't seem to have noticed! I'm working harder than you ever have! Selling drugs…of course you would take the easy way instead of working to make money!"

"It was effective!"

"It was illegal! Do you know what could have happened if I hadn't found you in time? You would have been caught!"

"I would have been fine! I don't regret anything I did! You wouldn't understand; you didn't get half of your brother's face burned off, and you didn't get your sister's limbs crushed!"

"You know nothing about my life! Nothing!"

"And I don't want to!"

"You're acting like a child!"

"Because I am a kid! I'm not an adult, so why do you keep pressuring me to act like one? I can take responsibility for myself, but why are you expecting me to save the while family somehow?"

"I'm only asking for you to help."

"But apparently I just can't do it right, can I?" The tension was so thick between them it was as if the very air had the consistency of molasses. Rin's head was swimming as it tried to process everything. Leon had said it himself, the only hope she had found in humanity had been a lie. He was just as selfish as everyone else, but at least others put some effort into trying to help her! What her brother was doing, besides defying his every impression he'd had on her, was no better than what Gumi was trying, though at least she didn't lie to Rin. She told the truth, but she was creative with it, and often left out important details to attempt to keep Rin blind. But Leon had blatantly lied to her, and now the only feeling she felt at all was despair and victimization, though the latter wasn't technically an emotion. But all the same, she felt like the only person who had ever gained her full love and trust had used it against her, and really hadn't cared about her in the slightest.

"If you're going to keep acting like this, just get out of my house!" the deep, barking voice boomed, though it was little more than a whisper to Rin as she drowned in her own emotions.

"Fine! I'll leave!"

There was a moment of silence as Leon stormed out of the kitchen and into the hall, almost crushing the poor little handicap in her wheelchair. For a split second, the sight of her worked on him like a freeze ray, causing him to cease all movement. His eyes locked on her and his face twisted mix of a million emotions with pain swirled in somehow. They locked gazes for a second, then Leon turned away from her and ran out the front door without another word, slamming it behind him.

"Leon!" Leon's path of escape was soon followed by the balding man who possessed the senior voice. He didn't even glance at Rin as he darted around her, his movements bizarrely nimble for his age, and after his oldest son. "Leon! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

Rin watched helplessly as her father ran after the boy who had loved and cared for her so much, the only one who had ever realized how she wanted to be treated and given her what she wanted. There was a sudden realization in her mind of a burning behind her eyes and a wetness on her cheeks. The world was spinning, and there was no processing of anything.

Only her brother, run out into the night.

"Leon! Leon wait!" her father's voice had become a distant echo in her head, which happened to be spinning at a murderous speed. "Where did you go, damn it! It's too dark out for this! Leon!"

There was a pounding of footsteps, and suddenly there were more human shapes, undefined behind the sheen of fluid building up in her eyes that she cared not to blink away. Their voices were a jumble of sounds and syllables that her fractured conscious couldn't fashion into words, leaving her with incomprehensible debris floating in and out of her thoughts. Before she knew what was happening, a pair of hands had grabbed her shoulders and was shaking her, almost knocking her chair into the wall. A low, overly matured female voice cried out, shouting something at the tall being that had grabbed hold of wheelchair girl. Slowly, she felt herself released, and with the thud of falling back into the chair, the tears were jerked from her eyes and fell onto her cheeks.

Suddenly, everything fell into focus.

Neru was standing over, having been the figure who her shaken her. She was looking over toward Oliver and their mother, who were standing near the door. All three wore the same mask of depression in their features, but after a moment's observation, Rin confirmed that it wasn't a mask.

"Neru?" Her voice sounded broken, almost like it wasn't hers. The broken, foreign voice did not faze nightmare girl, and she continued her use of it. "Neru, where did papa and Leon go?"

"Leon's running away like the stupid bastard he is," Neru said bitterly, her mask –no, expression- of distress quickly morphing into one of irritation. The owner of the features that did the twisting was proud, and would not permit herself to be seen in any state of weakness. "Papa is trying to find him, but the whole situation seems pretty idiotic. Leon's acting like a little girl who was told her imaginary friend wasn't real, for Crist's sake. He's so pathetic."

"That's enough, Neru." The chapped lips that decorated their mother's face released the command, which –although intended to be threatening- was no more than a whisper. The woman was obviously forcing her sleep deprived eyes not to let any tears through, but her voice betrayed her fear and despair. Young Oliver laid a comforting hand on his mother's shoulder, trying to provide some hope to his mother. It was ridiculously ironic how the tiny little boy was the most brave, stable, selfless member of the family. Yet another disgusting aspect of their lives.

"Leon! Leon please!" Her father's shouts seemed to snap them all back into reality, and it sent Ann and Oliver running out the door, Leon's name chorusing between them as they ran out into the street. Sighing deeply, Neru grabbed the back of Rin's chair and wheeled her out the door, helping her down the steps just outside it. Once they had crossed their miniscule lawn –if you could call it that- the older girl let her sister go, running out to where the others were scattered, shouting for Leon.

Rin felt helpless and conflicted. Should she shout for Leon, the boy who had done nothing but lie to her in order to quench his own flames of guilt? He had never really cared for her at all; she wanted to deny it, but the boy had even admitted it himself.

The only happiness she had known was all a lie.

* * *

**Question Time!  
**

**Did the fight come in too early? Should I have waited until later in the story?**

**Is this too depressing?**

**Why do you think I chose to put this moment in so early?**

**Why do you think I put this event in at all?**

**What significance will Rin's trip to the movies have?**

**What do you think of Leon? How does it compare to how you felt about him at the beginning of the chapter?**

**Where are the other kids?**

**Was this chapter boring?**

**Is any of this hard to understand? Does anything not make sense?**

**Am I taking too long to update?**

**Should this chapter have been shorter/longer?**

**Do you care about my questions?**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The door creaked open, and creaked shut, closing with a light click. Everyone in the house was alerted to the sudden presence of several sets of feet in the house, which echoed on the hard wooden floor. Rin jerked her eyes open and immediately grabbed the wheels of her chair, sending herself out the door and down the hall. She noticed Neru, Oliver, and the new arrivals from their various jobs and activities, Mayu and Ia. The fair haired siblings rushed to the front door, where the first sight that met them was their mother supporting a girl with long, flowing blond hair. Rin gasped as Seeu and Ia took the limp body of their sister from their tired mother's arms.

"What…..what happened to Lily, mama?" Neru stuttered, frozen with shock. "She…she isn't….."

"She's alright," her mother assured her. "She's just been knocked out, and her leg's a bit hurt. She'll be fine."

"Did you find Leon?" Mayu asked, bouncing with impatience. She wanted to know as much about the selfish, lying boy as she could. Rin didn't comment, knowing Mayu's ignorance for the absolutely vile personality and reasoning of the brother she idolized.

There was an eternity of silence before their mother spoke again. Rin knew that silence, and immediately understood what had happened. She saved her mother the trouble of delivering the news.

"He's dead." She said without turning to look at anyone, yet she could feel the eyes of everyone on her. Sighing, she spoke again. "Isn't he?"

"Yes," the mother said. Her voice wasn't sad, just tired. "It took us almost three hours, but eventually we found him and Lily arguing as they crossed the street. She seemed to be dragging him in the direction of home. My guess is that she found him while walking home, and she realized that he was running away. They were crossing as we drove toward them, and a speeding car came along. I screamed to them, but it was too late. Lily had her back to it, but Leon saw it coming and grabbed her, moving in between her and the car. The car hit….and that was that. We pulled over, and she was unconscious next to his body. The car crashed, and the person driving had apparently been drunk. She got out of the car and tried to run, but your father grabbed her. He's taking her down to the station now for a hit and run incident, though she didn't run very far."

"Where's he now?" Neru asked, her voice a dull tone. Rin could see right through it like a flimsy plastic film put up in a clumsy attempt to mask the girl's despair.

"I called an ambulance, thinking they could save him." Ann sounded as if she would fall asleep then and there, knocked out by pure exhaustion. "But when they came, I already knew it was hopeless. They took the body away, saying that they could take care of everything. They're a hospital, so they're used to dealing with the disposal of dead bodies."

"You need to rest, mama." Ia said, resting a hand on her mother's shoulder. "Go to bed. We'll take care of Lily until dad gets home."

"Are you sure?"

"Go," Rin added, disgusted with her own tone. She didn't sound angry or upset or even tired like her mother. She just sounded bored. She knew she should be feeling some sort of emotion for the loss of her brother, but there was nothing there. She couldn't even force herself to feel the emptiness of loss she knew everyone else in the room was feeling. There was just nothing there.

Rin felt the gaze of her mother turn on her again, staring at her with probing eyes, as if searching for some answer. She finally felt the stare lift as the woman stood and walked down the hall to her room.

Once she was gone, the siblings all found themselves in the living room, where Ia and Seeu had placed Lily on the tiny sofa. It seemed appropriate, as it was proportionate to the tiny room and tiny house. All seven of the children barely fit in the room. That was what they were now, weren't they? Seven children instead of the eight they had been known for being for the last twelve years. Leon, Lily, Neru, Ia, Seeu, Mayu, Rin, and Oliver, all with their own personal differences in appearance and attitude. Never since Oliver had been born had they been seven, and they hadn't ever imagined they would be so soon. Of course, they hadn't thought they would live forever, but no one expected to die at seventeen.

Rin looked around at her brother and sisters, her eyes pausing to examine each face. Mayu and Seeu were wrecks, sobbing into each other as they sat together on the floor, curled up into one big ball. Ia sat next to Lily's unconscious form, tears flowing freely down her cheeks as she absently stroked her older sister's hair. Neru was standing alone in the corner, her head in her hands as she leaned against the wall, grieving in solitude. Oliver was the most pitiful to look at, tears flowing from his eye down his cheek. He vigorously wiped at it, trying not to appear as weak as all of his sisters around him. Rin could comprehend his feelings; now that Leon was gone, he was the only boy, and he didn't want to look like all of his feminine older sisters. Even when they were just at home, he needed to learn to restrain himself from feminine emotion, at least in his mind.

_Boys are so insolent. _The words reverberated through Rin's skull, the sound resonating in her mind like the echo of a child's shout in a canyon. But it was the truth to her. _They're so simple minded and egotistic. It's all about being better than the other guy, isn't it? Either that, or protecting yourself from all other guys, even if they show no sign of preparing to attack. It's actually pretty stupid._

_ What's even worse is that if they're not acting like that, it's either for a girl, or prove they're not like a girl. If they love girls so much, then why is being compared to them such a bad thing? Not to mention their insulting use of the word "gay". Why do they compare all behavior to sexuality? Of course, I'm being a bit sexist, aren't I? Girls are just as bad as guys, though often in different ways._

Rin sighed, dropping her head back over the back of her chair. No one looked at her, as they were all too caught up in their own grieving to acknowledge her. Suddenly, she realized how much she _liked it. _No one was fretting over her or treating her like a handicap; she wasn't even the focus of anything! She repulsed herself for feeling and thinking in such a manner after her brother's death, but she couldn't help it. She was a horrible, repulsive person who would eventually burn in hell, or whatever it was that happened. She almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, but held her tongue in respect. She hated who she was on the inside, but her outer self wasn't as horrible, it being that it could be contained.

Rin looked over her siblings again, letting the fact that there would never be an eighth again sink in.

…

"I'm really sorry about your brother, Rin." Wheelchair girl tried to ignore the voice behind her, hoping it would float away like any other meaningless sound. Unfortunately, the source of the voice was holding tight to the back of the chair, pushing it through the school hallway.

Not knowing what else to say, Rin simply gave the Barbie doll pushing her to class a whispered lie.

"Thank you. We all really miss him."

It was only made a lie by one word: "we". Rin didn't miss the boy one bit, though she knew from years of experience that allowing the truth to be what was communicated wasn't always a wise choice.

"I bet." Gumi said with a sigh. "I would say that I know how you feel, but I don't. Though I do know someone who does, but he doesn't exactly like to talk about it."

"Who?" For once, the green haired princess had sparked her curiosity.

"My little brother," the words were a sigh, flowing from Gumi's mouth like a sudden breeze of wind. "Though I guess he's technically my adopted brother. He lost his entire family in just one year, leaving him all alone until we took him in a few months ago."

"Wait, a few months?" Rin asked, twisting her head around to look at the girl pushing her wheelchair. "He's only been with your family for a few months?"

"Yeah. Actually, the reason I brought him up is he's joining our school tomorrow. He isn't very social, but we're hoping that might change when he's around more kids his age!"

"How old is he?"

"Fourteen. In fact, I think he might be transferring into your class, Rin!"

Rin thought that over for a moment. Normally she didn't even bat an eye in the direction of changes in the school, even new students, but just in the way Gumi talked about him, there seemed to be something different about him. When she talked about him, Barbie girl didn't use her plastic voice that Rin so often had to listen to. Instead there was a soft tenderness to her voice, as if the boy were right there with them.

"What's his name?" she asked after a moment of contemplation.

"Len"

"Interesting," Rin turned to stare straight ahead, losing herself in thought. She didn't know what, but there was something about this boy that made her want to meet him. "Is he coming to the movie with us?"

"Well, he isn't really a fan of other people, but maybe I can get my parents to make him go with us! They'll probably do it, seeing how they're always trying to get him to go out and make friends."

"He sounds like Neru. All she does is sit on her phone and computer all day, jumping around between twitter, tumblr, and whatever else she's doing on there."

Gumi laughed, and Rin felt her hand petting her head. She flinched at the older girl's touch, her hatred of human contact showing. Gumi didn't seem to notice, and kept her hand there for longer than Rin would have appreciated before drawing back.

"Len isn't one for electronics. He's really weird. He spends a lot of time sitting alone in his room with the lights off, not making any noise. I once walked in on him, and he threw a fit and started pitching random things at me. He doesn't ever really come out of there unless my parents make him."

"Weird," Rin mumbled, only half listening at this point. Gumi seemed pleased to have found a subject Rin was interested in, so she was milking it for all it was worth.

"Yeah. He's also got a lot of weird things in his room, like this weird old wooden doll I saw him bringing in when he first moved in. I asked him about it, but he just scowled at me and walked away. What do you think his deal is?"

"I don't know." Nightmare girl had hardly heard the question. She was already lost in her own thoughts. A boy who had lost his entire family, what would he be like? He was antisocial, but would there be any change with the introduction of his adoptive sister's friends? Considering Gumi's effect on Rin herself, that wasn't likely.

"Hey! Rin!" Rin looked up at the sound of her name. Once again, here came Mayu, coming to rescue her from the green haired Barbie doll. She forced a smile, knowing Mayu deserved it for feigning happiness after such a prolonged depression. After all, it had only been three weeks since Leon's death, and she had always looked up to him.

"Hey Mayu." Rin twisted around once again to face Gumi. "You can leave me with Mayu now. You don't need to push me any farther."

"Oh no, I don't mind pushing. We can…."

"Rin, I need to talk to you." Mayu said, running to the side of the chair and grabbing onto it. When Gumi didn't step aside, she eyed her carefully. _"Alone" _

Taking the hint, Gumi stepped away from the chair, leaving Mayu free to take the back of her sister's chair. Forcing a grateful smile, she wheeled the amputee away.

"Thanks." Rin said. "But you didn't have to do that."

"I can't stand seeing you with that girl. Seeing her make you miserable only makes me feel worse. If I hadn't gotten you out of there, what kind of a sister would I be?"

"Alright." Awkwardness stretched between them like chewed bubblegum in the hands of a child, creating a sticky, messy wall of silence. With a grimace, Rin reached into the disgusting silence to reach a conversation with Mayu, knowing that she would be stuck there once she went in. "So how are you holding up?"

"Fine"

"I know you really cared about him. I'm sorry about what you're going through. I feel terrible."

"It's not your fault, Rin."

"Yes it was. The reason for that argument was me. It was my fault that he ran out like he did. You weren't there, but if it hadn't been for me, Leon and dad wouldn't have yelled at each other like that, and Leon wouldn't have run off. He wouldn't have been hit by that car…."

"Even if it was your fault, if Leon hadn't been there, Lily still would have been hit. Remember that. Whether you caused the argument or not, and I'm not saying you did, we still would have ended up with one dead sibling. She only made it out of there with a concussion and a broken ankle, but would it have been that bad if Leon hadn't grabbed her and put himself between her body and that car? And how is it your fault that argument happened? Sure, it was about you for a large portion of the time, but it happened because of your accident, and that wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was. If I had been more careful, I wouldn't be everyone's problem, and Oliver would have his whole face."

"Oh shut up already! Oliver went in to save you as his own choice! No one made him! In fact, everyone was trying to stop him! But he was the only one brave enough to go in there and pull you out when you couldn't move. And who the hell said you're everyone's problem?"

"I can tell, Mayu. It's pretty damn obvious. We were already in a bad state, but I had to go and screw up again, making myself a huge issue for everyone. We had to spend so much money—"

"Keeping you _alive, _Rin! Were you expecting us to just let you _die _like that? This isn't a game! This is real life!"

"Don't you think I know that? Why do you think I'm bringing up the situation?"

"Why do you always have to bring it up?"

"Maybe I think that…"

"Maybe it's not all about you! Do you think that everything we're doing to stay alive is for you? Even if you weren't in this state, everything would still be as bad as it is! Stop being so selfish and making everything about you!"

Mayu glared into the back of her sister's head, but she received no response. Rin had fallen silent, turning to stare down at her stumpy lap. Was that how people saw it? Was she really making everything about herself? It was hard to tell for sure, but looking back, it seemed true, in a sense.

There was a feeling of a sudden and jerky stop, and Rin glanced up to see that they were frozen outside of her next class. With a whispered thanks, she wheeled herself into the room, full of even more regret and guilt then she already had been.

…

Leon's funeral was short and dull. They didn't have the money for anything fancy, but there was a short service at an old church before they took him to be buried in the graveyard across town. Nothing short of a river could have been formed from the tears shed by the Kagamine children, yet not so much as a drop fell from Rin's eyes. There was nothing behind her eyes to be shed, no remorse, no longing, no impossible desires for love from a dead man, nothing at all. She was an android, only waiting patiently for the end of a long period of interaction between herself and other humans. Of course, there was little to be said, and yet so many words were spoken, all without meaning. Long monologues of nothing, all to honor a selfish boy who had done nothing important, of course, it wasn't like he had any time to do anything with his life. It was just nothing, nothing, and more nothing. It was just like the amout of respect Leon had held for other's feelings.

Mayu and Seeu had cried their eyes out once again, holding onto each other for support. As the only twins in the family, all they had ever been capable of was supporting each other. It was sweet, in one sense of the word, but that wasn't really something Rin often observed in people. She had her own opinions of reality, ones which required no support from anyone else. She thought that no one should have to work to help anyone else, especially if it was more trouble than the person was worth. Mayu and Seeu's relationship would have died on Rin's views, and she wasn't sure that they would have made it this far. Rin tried to imagine herself with a twin, maybe a little boy with her haircut and style, but in a more male form. But in the end, she found that this imaginary twin only caused more problems than he solved, and the idea was quickly cast aside as useless.

Neru sat silently, her arms crossed over her chest and her head hanging low. Her long blonde hair was free from its mundane ponytail that had sprouted from the side of her head, and was mostly flowing free with the exception of a few strands that had been braided, and now circled from one temple to the other around the back of her head, creating a circlet of braided hair. She looked like some sort of elf princess, but the braid held the free hair back, preventing her from using it as a curtain to cover her face. She was obviously fighting back a tsunami of emotion, but still there were several tears that had fought through her emotional defenses, and were now rolling freely down her cheeks. Rin didn't pity her, knowing that emotion was something Neru needed to overcome and ignore, as Rin often did. If she could tune out her emotions, she didn't see why Neru shouldn't be capable of such a talent.

Lily spent the entire episode standing tall, proud, and confident before her family's crumbling emotions. She took after her father, matching his stoic demeanor and quiet remorse, though toward the end of the speech she gave, everyone could see a few glistening drops on her cheeks.

Oliver had given up trying to look tough, and spent most of the service bawling like a baby. No one could blame him, though. This wasn't something a twelve year old boy should be going through, even Rin could see that. The child was a mess, having been taught that all death was loss and all people were to be mourned, especially family. It wasn't something said outright, but rather implied subtly throughout life. It was a simple principle of 'death is bad' and 'death is sad'. There was no context to it, but it was what all children were meant to believe. It was truly impossible to determine if that was still Oliver's mindset at the age of twelve, as Rin was no mind reader, but the tears of the child could be due to his lack of acceptance of the person he had discovered his brother was when the fight had been recollected by Rin and their father to the rest of the family. As his only brother, Oliver had loved Leon just a bit more than his other siblings, and the discovery of his lies and lack of consideration for anyone had hurt him, especially after he had been convinced that he had truly cared for Rin and himself after their injuries. The information that it had all been guilt driven was hard for someone so innocent to accept. True, Rin was only two years his senior, but what difference did that make? Age meant nothing in the long run, especially in such short intervals. Rin held more of an emotional maturity (if you could call her disgusting indifference that) than many of her older siblings, and the one younger one.

Even her father had shed tears! He had lost his oldest son, and - despite what he had done - he had still cried for him! He would still miss the sound of his voice and the spring in his step, in spite of the disgusting personality he had been hiding! It truly astounded Rin how they all mourned the Leon who they were aware was a fake, and for some reason refused to acknowledge the real one. What did they see to gain from all of this? Rin hated herself for not seeing it, knowing that somehow, it was a result of her horrible, repulsive emotions. What kind of child didn't mourn a lost sibling, no matter how they had behaved? Did Leon really deserve this? Was what she felt the correct way to feel? She knew it wasn't, but somehow questioning the fact made her feel less guilty for her own emotions, or lack of them.

After Leon had been buried, the family slowly shuffled their way toward the edge of the graveyard, where they began their walk home. Cars were a pain with such a large and financially unstable family, so they tended to walk everywhere. Sadly, that had been the death of one of them. Still, Rin doubted that an investment in a car would be the first thing on anyone's mind after a funeral for a boy who had been killed on impact by a drunk driver. But as the herd of penguins shambled out of the cemetery, Rin glanced back over her shoulder, knowing that there was something missing. Her own soul, shriveled up and rotten, could not bring itself to care for the boy who had betrayed her in such a manner. She had known the emotion was missing, but there seemed to be something else missing beside that.

Looking back toward the graveyard, something captured her attention. The sunset stunned her where she stood, preventing her from wheeling any farther with her slow motion penguin family. The spectrum of colors spread across the sky like peanut butter, fading all the way from deep, blood red to a deep violet blue straight overhead. It was beautiful, and natural beauty was something Rin was able to appreciate. Sunsets like this were yet to be screwed up by the untamable emotions of mankind, and they still looked the way they had a thousand years ago. No matter what petty human things happened around her, she could always trust the sun to set in the same way. Death, injury, amputation, emotions, all insignificant to the revolution of the Earth around the sun. That was one beauty that allowed Rin to forget all the things that repulsed her, most of which resided in her own mind.

But as she watched the sunset, another thing caught her eye. In the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of vibrant blond hair. Of course, she at first assumed it to be from the heads of one of the many family members surrounding her, all fair haired except her father, but then the mood of their situation returned to her mind. The somber attitude of everyone around reminded Rin that no one would be moving in such a quick, alert manner.

Curiosity taking over, Rin turned to see a lean, lanky boy with a mess of golden locks running through the graveyard. He had grown distant from where she sat at the entrance, but not so distant that she couldn't see the nervous way he glanced around, as if he were doing something he shouldn't have been. Her common sense evaporating, Rin turned and wheeled after the boy. No one seemed to notice, as there was no audible reaction from any of the family members she left behind her.

Speeding her chair up with more violent motions of her arms, she followed the boy with silent wheels on dewy grass. He was quick, but she had been practicing, and knew how to move quickly on her wheelchair. The boy didn't even notice as she followed him through the cemetery, her chair clumsy, but still speedy and silent.

Wheelchair girl followed him across the graveyard, watching him from a distance as he ran. When he finally stopped, Rin actually had to catch her breath from wheeling her chair so fast. Unfortunately, her chair didn't stop when she did, thanks to momentum. The chair continued speeding on, and almost into a tree. With a narrow swerve, she avoided the tree, but tipped the chair over. She fell to the ground with a shriek, knowing there was nothing to do now but hit the ground.

After a painful collision with the dirt, Rin tried in vain to get herself upright again. Upon realizing there was no hope of getting up on her own, along with the fact that she had gotten god knows how far away from her family, who were all in too somber a mood to notice her absence, Rin could feel the tears she had been waiting for finally beginning to form. She was alone, and she was scared.

"Hey, need some help?"

Rin looked up with hope to see the boy standing over her, his arms crossed over his chest distastefully. Smiling gratefully, Rin nodded. The boy sighed and bent down, scooping her up as if she were nothing more than a doll. She felt herself blushing at the touch of a stranger, but she knew that this was her only chance other than lying on the ground for another hour, waiting for someone to find her.

The boy set her down next to the tree she'd almost hit, giving her something to support her back while he righted her wheelchair. While he turned away from her, she got a chance to really look him over. He had long, messy hair that hung down to his shoulders, and skin paled from the absence of sunlight in their cloudy town. He wore an old leather jacket and jeans, obviously to protect him from the autumn cold. He was tall and skinny, yet there still seemed to be a bit of light muscle on his arms and legs, which explained how he had lifted her so easily. The amputee wasn't what most would consider light, and only stronger people like Leon and her father had been able to lift her with as little effort as this boy, and he didn't seem to be anywhere near their age. In fact, he didn't look much older than Rin, despite his height and build. There was something in his boyish, childlike face that told Rin so.

Once the chair was upright, he lifted her up again, and she could feel herself blushing at how gentle and kind his touch was. He was only a stranger, she reminded herself, there was no need to get worked up.

_He's only getting so close because he's helping you efficiently, and he's only being so gentle because he thinks you're a crippled weakling._

Safely in her chair again, Rin turned to the boy and muttered thanks before turning to wheel herself back in the direction of her family. After a few feet, she glanced back in his direction, only to see him watching her like a hawk.

"What?" she asked, frowning at his uncomfortable focus on her.

"I was just making sure you got out of here without hitting another tree." He said casually, his voice a bored drawl. "Don't get any ideas, kid."

"Whatever," Rin grumbled, any admiration she'd had for the boy instantly erased. What kind of an attitude was that? Saving someone then talking shit to them, what the hell?

Rin wheeled herself back in the direction of her family, who she could hear beginning to call her name. Groaning, she sped up, but not too fast. She didn't want to give this kid the satisfaction of hitting another obstacle. But there was one thing that wouldn't leave her head, no matter how hard she tried to focus on getting herself from Point A to Point B.

Who was that boy, and what was his game? Why was he in the graveyard at sunset, all by himself? He didn't look older than fifteen or sixteen, so what was he up to?

She threw one final glance in the direction of the boy, who had now given up on watching her and turned to set flowers on a grave. Had he been carrying those before? Groaning and reprimanding herself to be more observant, she gave the sunset a final longing stare before returning to her family.

* * *

**Sorry for the late update. I would give you an excuse, but I'm really just lazy and depressed over the death of my guinea pig.**

**Questionssssss!**

**Leon is dead! Was that a good move for me to make as the author?**

**Who was the kid in the cemetery?**

**What can you determine from Gumi's description of Len?**

**I've been up all night, and I'm updating this at like 5:45 AM. Is that a bad thing?**

**Are the words in this story making any sense?**

**Is any of this hard to understand?**

**Are you depressed yet?**

**What was that kid doing in the cemetery?**

**Any wheelchair-users out there? How am I portraying the use of a wheelchair? (I can imagine not very well...I know nothing of wheelchairs)**

**What assumprion can you make about each of the siblings from what has happened so far?**

**Is it weird to see Mayu and Seeu as twins? I've always thought they looked like sisters, but maybe that's just me.**

**Is there anything I should have added to this chapter? **

**What the hell happened to Rin and Oliver? Guess!**


	4. Author's Note

Hey guys.

Sorry if this wasn't what you were expecting, and I know you've all been so nice and patient waiting for the next chapter. Well, I'm sorry but I need to inform you of a few things.

I have been suffering from depression and mental/emotional breakdowns for several weeks now. I have contemplated suicide, purged, and almost self harmed. I hate life and am terrified of it due to issues with stress, pressure from school/music/people, dealing with my sexuality (I've been struggling to come out as gay to my friends and family), and many other things. I do have the next chapter of "For Love or For Wealth?" about half finished, and I will come back and continue all of my stories once I get my shit together.

I'm sorry friends, but please don't unfollow or anything! I will come back, I promise! But when I come back is uncertain.

I just don't have the motivation to write out anything long right now, okay guys? I'm sorry for not telling you this sooner.

If you want to interact with me, you can still go to any of my tumblr blogs, my twitter, or check out my YouTube channel (which I actually haven't been doing much with because again, no motivation).

I'm really sorry guys, I just can't write right now.

xoxoxo

-H.A.H.


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